UK Data Service
Five partner universities
100+ staff
Exists as UKDS since 2012 (as UKDA 1967)
National data since 2003
UK social survey microdata:
Multinational data: aggregate databases and survey microdata
Census tables and individual data – current and historical
Business: microdata and administrative data
Qualitative data: multimedia and interview data
Questions asked to people
About objective characteristics ie height, weight, age
About views and attitude:
External measurement (biosample, genetic, cortisol levels)
Smart data (from devices ex accelerometer, energy meter)
Linked administrative records - more on this later
Screen-based sedentary behaviour and depression
11 341 adolescents from the Millennium Cohort Study
The main outcome was depressive symptoms:
Exposures were frequency of video game, social media, and internet use (age 11).
Self-reported physical activity (effect modifier)
Mental health (depression, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire)
Diet and sleep; Alcohol, smoking, drug use
Anti-social behaviour and offending
Parent physical and mental health
Linked data
Largest longitudinal study of the UK population
40K households, 100K individuals initially (2009)
17 waves so far: 2009-23. Includes BHPS data 1991-2009
Ethnic minority boost samples, innovation panel
Very wide range of topics covered:
Parra-Mujica, Johnson et al (2023)
Positive association between health for the 16 to 24 and:
Microsimulation shows that respondents on lower income would benefit the most from increases in their income,
Possible diminishing effects of income increases on mental health without fiscal and lending reform
Focusing on the poorest risks neglecting other vulnerable subgroups, ie young workers and single youth
Records produced when a survey respondent interacts a government organisation
Can be merged with survey data…
Entails more stringent conditions of access (Secure access)
Early days, especially for everyday users but expanding area
Fine grained socio-demographic population estimates
By age group:
Typical application: population estimates for small areas
Residents aged 0-24 as a % of the population by LSOAs , 2021
.
Attitudes towards and participation in different types of gambling activities
Data controller: Gambling Commission.
3,666 pupils aged 11 to 17 yo (school years 7 to 12 (S1 to S6 in Scotland
You can find it here
Population: young people aged 8 -15 yo
Experience of and views about the natural environment
Two waves: one in term time, one in holiday time.
Sample size: about 4,000 per year, 2,000 per wave
The data is available here
Topics covered:
Information on young people aged 11 to 15 who smoke, drink alcohol or take illegal drugs in England
It includes information on:
Sample size: about 17,000 (2023)
Register with the UK Data Service
Create a project (‘non commercial’, ‘commercial’, ‘teaching’)
Search, find and order the data
Add it to your project
Download it…
Et voilà.
A detailed summary is available here
Open data: can be downloaded without registration
ReShare (ie deposited) data: conditions will depend on the data owner; most of the time freely downloadable
Controlled data:
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (2023) Census 2021 briefing: Children and young people, GMCA Research
Parra-Mujica F, Johnson E, Reed H, Cookson R, Johnson M (2023) Understanding the relationship between income and mental health among 16- to 24-year-olds: Analysis of 10 waves (2009–2020) of Understanding Society to enable modelling of income interventions. PLOS ONE 18(2): e0279845.
Understanding Society series page at the UK Data Service
UK Data Service (2018): Webinar: research Using Youth and Young Adult Data in Understanding Society: Recording; Slides
Fang-Wei Wu, A., Henderson, M., Brown, M., Adali, T., Silverwood, R. J., Peycheva, D. and Calderwood, L. (2024). ‘Cohort Profile: Next Steps—the longitudinal study of people in England born in 1989–90’, International Journal of Epidemiology, 53(6), doi: 10.1093/ije/dyae152
Kandola A, Owen N, Dunstan DW, Hallgren M (2022). Prospective relationships of adolescents’ screen-based sedentary behaviour with depressive symptoms: the Millennium Cohort Study.Psychological Medicine 52, 3531–3539. doi: 10.1017/S0033291721000258